History Main / FanDisillusionment

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants''

The word "fan", originally descended from "fanatic", suggests a sense of loyalty to something. Most fans are, for the most part, a fairly resilient breed who will put up with a lot. However, you can only push them so far; if a fan perceives their loyalty to have been abused or betrayed, the disillusionment that follows can be bitter indeed. Whilst some may soldier on, resulting in the formation of various [[BrokenBase broken]] and {{unpleasable fanbase}}s, true fan disillusionment occurs when a fan abandons the show, book, or whatever it was that they lost faith in for good.

!!Examples

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* Happened to ''an entire generation'' in the Marvel Universe. [[ComicBook/BuckyBarnes James "Bucky" Barnes]] was the first sidekick in the world, and served with ComicBook/CaptainAmerica. Naturally, every kid wanted to be Bucky. Then he died, and no one wanted to be Bucky. J. Jonah Jameson, of all people, was one of these fans. While Bucky is still held in high regard by pretty much everyone, his death pretty much disillusioned everyone in regards to teenage superheroes. Notably, teenage superheroes themselves still hold Bucky in incredibly high regard, and when the ComicBook/YoungAvengers meet him, they salute and tell him it's an honour.
* In the ''LightNovel/DirtyPair'' mini series ''Fatal But Not Serious'', the Angels visit a planet where a bunch of their fans are holding a big convention. Several issues involving an evil clone, a mind-altering bioweapon and the star going supernova later, and all the people who were gushing over the Angels in book one are frothing at the mouth and forming lynch mobs to try and kill them.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Buddy Pine is the quintessential example of a disillusioned fan, being rejected by his hero himself. He then focuses his [[HeroWorshipper fanboy energy]] into [[FromNobodyToNightmare other activities]]...

In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Buddy Pine is the quintessential example of a disillusioned fan, being rejected by his hero himself. He then focuses his [[HeroWorshipper fanboy energy]] into [[FromNobodyToNightmare other activities]]...

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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Buddy Pine is the quintessential example of a disillusioned fan, being rejected by his hero himself. He then focuses his [[HeroWorshipper fanboy energy]] into [[FromNobodyToNightmare other activities]]...

Sometimes, such disillusionment may stem from [[JumpingTheShark an overall decline in quality]] (or a perceived decline, in any case) in the material itself. The show may suffer from one too many mistakes, glaring errors, [[KillEmAll cullings of the cast]], or the show could even be [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes completely withheld]], all of which can lead to fans just giving up. There's only so much you can quietly resign to the dustbin of [[FanonDiscontinuity fanon discontinuity]] before throwing your hands up in exasperation and storming off in a huff.

* Annie Wilkes of ''{{Literature/Misery}}'' views her favorite book series, ''Misery'', and its author Paul Sheldon, with an almost religiously positive view. Unfortunately for Annie, when she happens to save her favorite author from a deadly car crash and take him to her home to heal, he turns out to be different from her zealous expectations. Unfortunately for Paul, Annie is a profoundly AxeCrazy SerialKiller.

* After two novels being a literal LoonyFan AscendedFanboy UpToEleven of the ChivalricRomance, Literature/DonQuixote must accept in the last chapter that the ClicheStorm that he read as the adventures of a KnightErrant is not [[DeconstructedTrope as joyous as he thought it would be]]:

* ''Film/BatmanForever'': Much like the Syndrome example, this is how Dr. Edward Nygma AKA the Riddler started out. He idolized Bruce Wayne and wanted Bruce's approval of his "Mind manipulation Box." Bruce rejects Dr. Nygma's project, stating that it "raises too many questions." As his idol leaves, Nygma vows revenge, the first step toward him becoming the Riddler.

Occasionally, however, the reason for a fan's desertion, or loss of enthusiasm, is because they feel that the people who create their favorite show, book, game, or songs have let them down in some way. Sometimes this is justified when the person in question is deliberately cruel to their fans, but sometimes this is entirely the fans' fault for crying DarthWiki/RuinedFOREVER at every sign of something happening that they don't appreciate or if the personality in question tells the fan that they are being rude. [[note]] To the latter point, many celebrities make it a point to advise fans that while they do appreciate and enjoy interacting with them, they do expect their privacy to be respected, to be courteous, and to allow other fans a chance to meet them.[[/note]]

* A young adult novel featuring a young black girl aspiring to be a famous ballerina had the girl venturing to a bookstore to get a poster autographed by one of her many inspirations, a famous Russian dancer. After numerous fantasies about how the meeting would proceed, the girl was crushed when he simply asked for her name, signed the poster and handed it back to her, all while never even looking up at her.

* [[Music/AllShallPerish Ben Orum]] told an interviewer about how his opinion of Malevolent Creation (which he was a big fan of) was ruined by his first encounter with Phil Fasciana, who responded to Orum's adulatory greeting by asking him if he had any cocaine, then proceeding to verbally abuse Orum and call All Shall Perish a "nigger band" when Orum told him that he didn't have any.

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* In ''Film/BigFan'', Paul Aufiero is obsessed with the New York Giants, especially star player Quantrell Bishop. He's 36, still lives with his mother, works in a parking lot, and watches home games in the parking lot of the stadium via a television hooked to his car battery. When he and a friend by chance bump into Bishop at a strip joint, he decides to take the plunge and introduce himself to his idol. Things do not go as planned and a fight breaks out, leaving Paul with a black eye and a confused conscience as to how he should present himself as a court witness against his hero.

* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' had Maxwell Dillon going into this when Spider-Man tries to talk him down but thinks he's "using" him when the news cameras film the proceeding and all the TVs in Time Square focus ''only'' on Spider-Man. Then again it's shown earlier that Maxwell isn't mentally stable to begin with and turning into a pure energy being certainly didn't help.